"Every one of the hundred million Arabs has been living ... to see the day Israel
is liquidated"

The initial impression is that this DVD contains a remarkable
collection of archive footage covering, as its cover says, “the complete
story of the wars of Israel”. After the opening title the DVD jumps
straight to a timeline menu, with the first chapter “1917-1948 War
of Independence” and the eighth “2005-2007 Disengagement and
Second Lebanon War”. However once the viewer has jumped to that chapter
the movie plays to the end, it does not return to the chapter menu after
playing the required battle.

There is certainly plenty of invaluable footage of all the
conflicts – for there is material on the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem
reviewing Nazi troops which should be required viewing for all of the opinion
that it is only the position of Israel’s borders that dictate whether
the surrounding Arab states are able to live harmoniously alongside her.

The changed role of news cameramen in shaping our views of
these conflicts came through very clearly in this two-hour movie. The news-gatherers
of the Six Day War and the War of Independence documented events very objectively.
Yet, move forward to the Second Intifada and something has happened to the
news footage – now it no longer attempts to be an impartial observer,
but is evidently recording shots to support a specific viewpoint. The unintended
subtext of the movie was how censorship can manipulate media coverage, which
in turn manipulates viewers’ perceptions of these conflicts. Freedom
of the media in Israel means that journalists have ‘carte blanche’
to shoot anything they wish and showcase it however they wish. Thus we saw
shots of the second intifada stone-throwers, but not their adult supporters
transporting carloads of rocks to the ‘arena’ for use as ammunition.
And we saw the area in Jenin where the non-massacre took place – but
were not shown the area in context i.e just how small an area was involved
compared to the town of Jenin.

The emergence of ‘news coverage with an agenda’
when covering the more recent wars was not confined to the news footage
- unfortunately the commentary followed suit. So, in discussing the second
intifada, the commentary described actions of the young stone-throwers in
quasi-heroic terms; Arafat’s passing was also covered as if he were
some kind of elder statesman with the stature of a wartime Churchill (the
line followed at that time by the BBC’s Barbara Plett which resulted
in her excoriation). Both issues would have benefited from some clips from
Palestinian Media Watch or MEMRI – for example the clips showing the
incitement of children to hate Jews, of Arafat calling the children to become
shahids (suicide ‘martyrs’). The lucidity and objectivity of
the first part of the movie was spoiled, for me, by the choice of material
and commentary, which was seemingly written to harmonise with the ‘media
agenda’.

For a movie showcasing such a stunning archive of news footage,
more care should have been taken with the more recent “talking head”
sequences – lighting varied during a shot (looked like someone may
have walked in front of a movie light!). Audio levels needed proper post-production
– the commentary was well recorded, but the live interview audio levels
were either deafening or too soft! And what on earth possessed them to post-dub
certain battle scenes with Wild West gunfire, complete with pinging ricochets?

This movie represents an excellent compilation of news footage,
and every school that teaches this subject certainly needs a copy in its
library. However the commentary of the more recent conflicts follows the
bias of the news organisations who supplied the footage and for me that
let this production down.

We have made every effort to give full accreditation and endeavoured to ensure
that copyright has been respected. If you feel that your copyright has been
infringed by any material here please advise us and we will immediately
remove it.